By Jill Jackson
HOLLYWOOD … Bet your last buck that Meryl Streep will get yet another Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Julia Child in “Julie & Julia.” You’d never know that it’s Meryl under a wig and with the high-pitched voice. I would like to add that for me, she is THE best actress on the screen today. Not the biggest moneymaker, not the most favorite personality, but the BEST in the acting department. In real life, she is Mrs. Don Gummer, happily married and the mother of Henry, Mary, Grace and Louise. She is a graduate of Vassar, and in high school she was a cheerleader and homecoming queen. I guess you could say: “She’s had it all.” P.S. Her first job was as a waitress.
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Bruce Willis is quite a character. First the shaved head, and now a beard to counterbalance it. No telling what’s next, but what IS telling is that he and Demi and the girls get along very well with his lady friends and her Ashton Kutcher. I shall never forget when I first covered the Emmys, and in the restaurant, I sat next to Bruce and Cybill Shepherd. They were newcomers in a new series that turned into a big hit. I heard him say to her, “One day we will be known like all these people receiving awards.” You were so right, Bruce. Not only is he an excellent actor, he’s a “helluva” musician. Some people do have it all!
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It’s tourist time in Tinseltown. Hundreds of bug-eyed fans out hunting for their favorites. And once again, just a word of advice. Don’t try to find them on your own. Take a tour — either at a studio or one of the independents. They will find them for you (for a few bucks).
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It’s also “dullsville” for column writers, because there’s not much filming action. Many of the “names” have taken off on vacations in foreign lands or somewhere remote in the good old USA. However, if you insist on doing it on your own, there’s always Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills with its fancy shops and fancy prices, the Farmers Market and up and down Sunset Boulevard. GOOD HUNTING!
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Meanwhile Chris Pine closed in the play at a small Westwood theater with Martin Sheen in the audience. He raved about the young actor, his talent and his future.
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Beyonce had a tremendous schedule for an around-the-world tour, but she canceled several “ports” and pushed back her Australian dates. No word yet as to “why.” Also, it’s quite difficult to find “gossip” about her private life. The reason may be that “there isn’t any.” I don’t mean a “private life,” I mean gossip.
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Aside to Natalie H. of Algiers, La.: You ask if I knew Jack Benny. Indeed I did. I was lucky enough to be cast in his New Year’s Eve show many years ago. Sometimes it is still shown on New Year’s Eve. What a lovely and loving man!
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BITS ’N’ PIECES: Paris, Lindsay, Britney. At this writing no new news, except the color of their hair. One never knows what it will be from week to week except for Paris. Hers is always white blonde, of indeterminate length. … Before he became famous, Warren Beatty was a rat catcher. I kid you not. And Burt Reynolds was a ballroom bouncer. … And did you know that Ronald Reagan played a bad guy in “The Killers” back in 1964. Off screen, he was one of the nicest guys who ever breathed.
© 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.